su chien’er exhibits passports and bed linen to explore migrant workers' identity in china

‘city mark without label’ is an exhibition by artist su chien’er that delves into the issue of rural migrant workers’ identity in china. the installation features a bedroom interior, bed linen, and passport covers, which are all made from red, white and blue nylon canvas. however, su chien’er transforms the everyday items by appropriating the canvas bags that rural migrant workers use to carry their belongings. by doing this, the artist uses the material as a symbol of their identity.

all images courtesy of su chien’er

according to the latest figures from china’s bureau of national statistics, the number of rural migrant workers in china reached 288 million in 2018, which is more than one third of its entire population. they are the engine of china’s urbanization and economic growth, but remain marginalized in the cities where they live. for the exhibition, the material used by su chien’er was originally invented in japan and exported to taiwan, then onto hong kong in the 1960s. ever since then, this type of bag has been favored by rural migrant workers traveling between hong kong and mainland china because of its cheapness and durability.

‘city mark without label’ won the golden pin concept design award 2019 design mark and has already been collected by the migrant workers museum in shenzhen, which may exhibit it in the near future. the artist, su chien’er graduated from guangzhou university of fine arts and currently studies social design at maryland institute college of art. her work explores the relationship between the city and its residents.

project info:

project name: ‘city mark without label‘

artist: su chien’er

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom